1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer-aided design (CAD) applications, and in particular, to a method, system, apparatus, and article of manufacture for stylizing lines using graphics processor unit (GPU) textures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Providing linetypes for two-dimensional (2D) CAD geometry is a core functionality in CAD applications. However, 2D CAD geometry has been a mostly neglected problem. In prior art 2D products, the problem was viewed as a central processing unit (CPU) problem, solved by tessellating the geometry into many line segments based on the linetypes. This means that extra data needs to be sent to the GPU for rendering, which reduces performance. A single line could be broken up into dozens or even thousands of line segments. While there have been GPU techniques for rendering continuous curves analytically, e.g. Bezier curves, the application of the GPU for basic 2D type drafting patterns and geometry has not been attempted in the prior art. In this regard, providing very high quality 2D line data with linetypes that conform to standards in a highly performance solution has not been possible in the prior art.